Combatting Child Labor: An ILO-funded Initiative in Nepali Brick Kilns

GoodWeave Certification Nepal, with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO), implemented a project aimed at eradicating child labor from 20 brick kilns across Rupandehi and Kapilvastu districts in Nepal. 
This collaborative effort addresses the pressing issue of exploitative labor practices prevalent in the brick industry.

The informal nature of the brick industry, which operates on the periphery of communities with little government oversight, has served to entrench exploitive labor practices like forced, bonded and child labor. The sector is dominated by low-skilled migrant and seasonal laborers, primarily from the agriculture sector, who rely on kiln work to supplement their livelihood. Kiln workers, often including whole families, have low access to finance, limited education, poor representation by government and worker associations, and few income alternatives to brick making with the exploitation and physical hazard it brings. Unrepresented, unregulated, and largely unseen, brick workers have seen little progress on their social, economic, or human rights; but with few income alternatives they lack the leverage to improve their working conditions and pay.

Designing and implementing holistic and sustainable interventions to address child labor in brick kilns in Nepal

Contribute to elimination child labour in brick production industry through holistic and sustainable interventions.

• Rupandehi districts: 2 kilns 
• Kapilvastu districts: 18 kilns

Output 1: Refinement of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Model for Kilns

• Established 17 ECD centers. 
• Recruited and trained 18 ECD facilitators. 
• Provided learning materials to 18 kilns. 
• Engaged 504 brick kiln children in ECD classes. 
• Facilitated school enrollment for 128 children. 
• Listed 124 young workers with local municipalities.

Output 2: Development of Child Labor Monitoring on Brick Kilns

• Established 9 local child labor monitoring committees. 
• Trained 32 committee members. 
• Conducted rigorous monitoring, resulting in 94 interventions. 
• Collaborated with GoodWeave inspectors for oversight. 
• Conducted kiln recognition ceremonies.

Output 3: Project Monitoring

• Developed a Project Monitoring Plan (PMP) for data collection. 
• Conducted frequent monitoring visits to program kilns. 
• Shared key learnings and facilitated replication of successful prevention approaches.

• Collaboration among stakeholders is Key for program success. 
• Effective implementation of combined child labor prevention strategies is crucial.

- Quote by the local level representative

"I am deeply moved by my involvement in the project, which has achieved remarkable success in addressing child labour in brick kilns. Addressing child labour should be in top priority for local municipalities, and the contribution of Goodweave in this regard is truly commendable. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to GooddWeave for its exceptional work and eagerly look forward to future collaborations. The model followed by GoodWeave to address child labour is truely replicable, and I intend to incorporate some of the activities into our local-level policy and activity plan."

• Trust and collaborative partnerships take time to build 
• Lasting and sustainable impact takes time and investment to achieve 
• Available age verification documents facilitate the fight against child labour 
• Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes reduce the risk of child labour 
• Significant level of child labour among Indian brick worker families requires targeted interventions 
• Lack of proper school documentation is a barrier for school enrolment for India children of brick workers

• GoodWeave Standard
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• GWCN